The first ride I've truly enjoyed in ages.  

• a mountain bike
• not part of a training plan
• no concern about speed
• no Garmin
• no wind!

Did you hear that?  NO wind!

I survived the weekend. Biking, running and an open water swim.  All done.

My reward?  Sitting on my deck in the early morning sun with a puppy beside me.  Love it!

The weekend overall was a blast.  The food, the wine, the company and most of the training was fun.

Highlights:

• Meals that incorporated 7 to 10 people sitting around the table at one time ~ making it feel very festive
• A cottage that rivals anything Martha Stewart could put together
• Amazing weather.  Rain held off 
• 140 km bike ride completed in a stoopid, krazy amount of WIND.  So much wind resistance that I was told the ride was equivalent to 170 km's.  Now?  I'm not a hundred percent sure if I was told that to make me feel better about the amount of whining and complaining I did.  BUT whatever.  170 km's!
• Bike pit stop (lunch) in Creemore.  Complete with a half pint ~ my kind of training!
• 10 km run with bike support and new running partners
• Amazing food, cooked by others.  Thanks Stj & Robin

AND....ready for this?

• An awesome open water swim!
• The water was absolutely beautiful up there
• No fish, no seaweed, no Sea Monsters!

Not one photo was taken.  Sorry.

But this is where I plan on spending the rest of my well thought out day off from work...

Why do I always feel like I'm running around and yet getting no where?  My house is in constant disarray.  Laundry piling up.  A garden chock full of weeds.  And dogs that have not had a proper, long walk in goodness knows how long.  If any of my friends decided to just drop by ~ well ~ we would have to sit on the deck.  The only 'cleanish' spot in the establishment.

I have been invited up to a triathlon training weekend at a friend's cottage.  Actually, she was my room mate in Arizona (poor girl, that must have been a treat!) and believe or not, she is still talking to me.  I'm surprised.  Anyhow, back to the weekend...she had invited a handful of people that were in Arizona up to her cottage in Wasaga Beach.  It is a long ride on Saturday and short run on Sunday with an open water swim.  G'ACK!  I'm thinking (because I haven't been told my distances as of yet) that I'll need to ride 140-160 and run 10.  Hopefully the weather holds out and the 'chance of showers' comes to nothing.

I have been charging around trying to locate all my gear, pack the linen, organize the dog sitters, do some laundry but the food is being taken care of by St.John.  Although, I think he has relaxed and has a c'est la vie attitude because the beer has been purchased and already packed.   Priorities people, priorities.    

I'm off to finish the packing...I'll post the results of the weekend if I survive my open water experience and I'll see what I can do about some drinking photos!    

120 km bike ride - done
5k run - done

For those of you that are following along.  Yes, the bike was 20 k too short BUT I would like to point out the ever present FUCKING wind was along for the ride again.  Combine that with the Hills from Hell and we have one great workout.

Went to friends for dinner and I managed not to fall into my dinner asleep.  Success!

I wasn't sure how I would feel today.  But overall, not bad.  I can feel my legs being tired but they are not sore or painful.

I leave you with a parting shot...the wash, go and roll out of bed look.

I'm trying not to read into the fact that almost every long ride I've been on has had clouds, hail, rain or wind.  Is there a message there?

WHOOPS. The first line of my last post "So this blogging break does equal workouts getting done"...  Should have read So this blogging break DOESN'T equal workouts getting done.


Training dumbness prevails....

So this blogging break does equal workouts getting done.  It means work has been 10-12 hour days with no time for anything else.

Friday night was an upgrade.  Did not leave the building until 1:00 AM and back in for support at 8:00AM .  Yeah.  Yesterday was a write off.

I was smart enough to foresee Friday's lateness and came in later than normal.  I know my boss wasn't happy about me showing up at noon...but yah know what...them's the breaks.  I went out for a bike ride and as usual, i ran out of time.  I only got 74kms in.

I am in the 'holy fuck' stage.  I don't think I can do this.  I am so ready for a half but this full business.  Not so much.  This may tie into the fact that we have purchased to tickets to CDA and I have sent off the cheques for the house we are renting.  What if we have invested all of this money....and I fail?

PS why does blogger not capitalize my small 'i's but refuses to let me write yah without an h?

What success looks like...

70 k bike / 21 k run

no posting ='s work outs being done

sweet.

It's Sunday. Weekend workouts are done!

65 kms on the bike and a 16 km run. Had 2 dropped chains during the ride, which I now know I can fix and a hard time with my gears. First thing that happened when I was picked up at the arranged meeting spot was take Mardi for a tune up. She just isn't riding right...

I'm pleased with the ride yesterday. It was a windy, windy day and that added to the experience. Today's run was a just gett'er done workout. Legs were moving but not with any finesse. The hills that surround us often make me want to stomp my feet. I know they are great built in training tools but g'eesh.

Anyhow. I'm on the deck now. Sun is shining, I've earned my beer and I'm making a to do list. Exciting things like laundry, empty dishwasher and obtain insurance quotes are on there. Woo hoo.

I really, really need to get going on organizing somewhere to stay during Ironman. I just can't get over the mark up on the house rentals.

Off to apply sun screen and stop the dogs from woofing at a passing puppy.

Back at it. Nice break both mentally and physically BUT really have run out of time...

Less than 80 days until 'The Day'.

Found a new running partner to run with during the week before work. Truthfully I had been avoiding her casual invites to run with her. Her background is marathons and has two Boston runs under her belt and that scares the bejeebers outta me. You have to be fast to run Boston and umm, yah? my speed? More of a jog than a run. Turns out to that I held my own. In the rain. Sweet! Every Wednesday, 6.45 AM! 8-12ks.

Last night I went to a make up Yoga class. Thursday nights are a level 3 class that pushes me. Totally what I needed. A fantastic stretch after my morning run and first real long stretch since the Bay.

As much as I was warned (and obviously didn't listen) this game is heavily stacked towards being Mentally prepared.

I will succeed...

Long weekend review via photos.

And yes, there is not a photo of a bike, bathing suit OR a pair of laced up running shoes. Which yes, means none of the three activities happened.

Instead, home repair, garden clean up, visiting family, hosting friends and enjoying the gorgeous weather took precedence.

So yep, it was a great weekend!

Friday morning. The sun is shining and it is WARM. It is supposed to go up to 25 today. I have to admit I was leery because the past 2 days had reached temps of 18 to 22 degrees but it still felt mighty cool. But today, the breeze is warm, sun is beaming....

I moved the indoor plants outside for their first taste of sun in months. I believe I can hear them singing and giggling. I'll need to remember to bring them in tonight...otherwise I'll hear them crying!

I was gonna post a picture of me squinting in a sunbeam. BUT I won't. Bedhead reigns. Instead here is another bedhead and the kat...

It is a 4 day weekend (my 1st ever 4 day Easter weekend, evah!) and I'm excited. We had planned on going to 'the cottage' the entire 4 days but my parents invited us over for dinner. More so because 2 birthdays happened this week...I'm trying to decide if we will cab it home or if I'll be the DD.

I missed my workouts yesterday** because it was Stj's birthday. I enjoyed myself, it was really nice even though we stayed home. Hope the birthday boy had fun too. (**not that I ever really need much of a reason to miss a workout). So I need to get a 70 k bike ride in and a 10 k run this weekend. Since I'm already dreaming of beer...the bike ride probably won't happen today. Possibly a brick tomorrow so that I can enjoy another guilt free day off working in the garden?!

I'm off to ponder, enjoy the sun and listen to plants singing while they bask in the warmth!

ps an essie coffee was just delivered to me. aaaaaah loverly!

Who? Who in their right mind designed toilets so close to the ground? Obviously someone who has never had to deal with lactic acid build up, that's who.

Holy crow. Owwie, owwie, owwie!

Once I get going, I'm fine but the initial 5 to 10 steps...? Yeah. Hell on earth.

Silver lining in all this. Not nearly as sore as the 1st Around the Bay AND a way quicker time. Felt much stronger for longer and the hills were a breeze...no issues until the last 4k....then the tweaks and twinges came out to play.

34 minute improvement over the first year? Yah. I'll take that.

Alright...for the whole 3 people who read this blog and who are used to a negative, holy shit what have I done tone of this blog...get ready 'cause;

THIS WEEK HAS BEEN BLISSFUL. SUPER. RELAXING. Actually ENJOYABLE

This translates to TAPER WEEK.

Around the Bay is tomorrow. A 30k run with a punishing last 10k.

No matter. It got me a light week of workouts that made me laugh. 4 k run with 3 intervals, 3 k run with 3 intervals, a 20 minute run today ~ no distance required. Just 20 minutes.

This week made me realize that I cannot wait for the weight hanging over my head to be gone. I knew that it was affecting me but I had no idea to what extent. I was actually pleasant to be around this week.

Pleasant. Laughed. Found humour in life.

Yeah. I've missed her. Can only imagine how Stjohn feels.

Alrighty. Two weeks since I returned from the 'trip from hell' or 'the character building' trip' or 'what the fuck was I thinking' trip. Actually I could come up with a kajillion more descriptors but I'll leave it at that.....

Training has been more than 50% but less than 90%. I'm happy with them overall because they have been quality work outs.

A 3000 yard swim

A 3 hour spin class (on a malfunctioning bike ~ which I'm trying not to read into)

A 18.5 km run....

Life is busy throwing curveballs but wow...thank god for a supportive husband. I love him to pieces.

I'm home.

Lots to digest.

I'm tired. Off to bed.

Sorry. A lot of whining this week. You need some photos.

Each day is getting a little better. It is too bad the week started the way it did. Everyone keeps telling me that Sunday's bike ride is like nothing they've even seen before. The biking conditions were deplorable and if I survived that, I can survive anything. Maybe. But every shred of biking confidence I had was destroyed during that ride. It doesn't help that since then...I've been the last biker on every single ride. The people have been great. In fact, in some cases phenomenal. Many people will drop back and ride with me, but it seems in my case, misery does not love company. I just need to plough through

I got a lot of work ahead of me if I plan on actually completing this journey.

Suntan lines have been acquired along with a sunburn on the face...not sure what to do. It's 55 and 30 SPF being applied ALL the time.

Today's agenda is a choice of bike or hike. With a 1.5 swim in the afternoon. Even though I need to work on the bike, I'm going to choose the hike today. Had enough of the fucking bike and being last. It is my vacation and I have Mt Lemmon to dread tomorrow.

Fuck. Whose idea was this.....?

The sun came out to play yesterday. Unfortunately the ride in the snow and rain on a highway the day before eroded any confidence I had in my biking.

Yesterday saw an hour long yoga class. 1.5 hours in the pool. 2 hour break and then a 2.5 hour bike ride.

What the fuck am I doing here? If someone offered me a ticket home today, I would go. Some hard decisions are needed...